Machine for pickling, swilling, and scrubbing metal plates



s. DAVlEs 2,050,649

MACHINE FOR PICKLING, SWILLING, AND SCRUBBING METAL PLATES Aug. 11,1936.

Filed April l, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet l Aug. 11, 1936. S. DAV|ES 2,050,649

MACHINE FOR PICKLING, SWILLING, AND SCRUBBING METAL PLATES Filed Aprill, 1955 3 SheebS--Shee'tl 2 Aug.r 11, 1936. s. DAvlEs v Y2,050,649

MACHINE FOR PICKLING, SWILLING, AND SGRUBBING METAL PLATES l Filed Aprill, 1935 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 machine.

Patented Aug. 11, 1936 UNITED TATES PATENT CFFICE MACHINE FOR PICKLING,SWILLING, AND SCRUBBING METAL PLATES pany of Great Britain ApplicationApril 1, 1935, Serial No. 14,162 In Great Britain April 3, 1934 12Claims.

in suitable batches, .are pickled and washed in bulk. This is effectedina separate machine and then the batches of plates are transported to atinning machine and the plates passed one after another through thismachine for the purpose of coating them with metal.

When the plates are pickled and washed in bulk, the treatment liquids donot always eiectively reach the whole-surface of the plates, and thesubsequent removal of the plates to the tinning machine involves amultiplicity of operations.

The object of the present invention is to provide an improved machinewhich lenables `the plates to be treated separately or singly and a muchmore effective and uniform application of the liquids to the platesurfaces to be achieved.

The machine is at the-same time capable of treating plates in successionso that they -may be directly after washingand scrubbing to a tinning Inthe treatment of plates separately and in succession, however, it isnecessary to have regard to the fact that plates of diiferent lengthshave to be dealt with inv practice and therefore the invention providesfor the improved Ymachine also to be capable of dealing with plates ofthis nature in an effective and economical manner.

It may here be mentioned that small plates are of different lengths fromlarge plates. The length is as regarde-d in the ldirection in' which theplates are passed through the machine and `when referring to the lengthof the plates in this specification the dimension in that direction iswhat is intended. Naturally only plates of one length f are treated atany one time.

According to this invention, a pickling device is vprovided comprising aplatev carrier suitable for receiving plates separately or singly and insuccession and adjustable to suit the length of plates under treatment,and means operative to discharge the plates from the pickling bath orvat `in succession atsubstantially equal intervals or (Cl. 26S-7) to thelength of the plates, for discharge of the plates from the plate carrierin succession at substantially equal intervals or distances apart. Theinvention also provides a feed device operative at corresponding speedsto feed the plates to the pickling bath or vat. Cam or like mechanismmay be used for eecting jigging movement of the carrier and thearrangement is suitably such that several reciprocations are imparted tothe carrier before the pick-up device comes into action to bring aboutremoval of the respective plates from the bath or vat. By this apparatuseffective treatment of the platesV by the liquid may be achieved and asthe plates can be removed at v. substantially equal successive intervalsor distances apart irrespective of their dimensions in the direction oftravel through the machine, there need be no waste of space and time inthe delivery of the plates and plates of all normal sizes can be treatedeffectively and economically.

For the purpose of swilling and scrubbing the plates or freeing themfrom acid, it is convenient to employ a swilling and scrubbing devicecomprising one or more sets of traversing rolls and one or more sets ofcleaning rolls which rotate at` different peripheral speed from thetraversing rolls. With this arrangement the cleaning rolls are able toeffect a scrubbing or wiping of the plates resulting in very effectiveWashing or cleaning. 30

In order to enable the invention to be readily understood reference isdirected to the accompanying drawings in whichz- Figure 1 is a sideelevation of one form of machine in accordance with these improvements.

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional elevation of the pickling vat andmechanism.

Figure 3 is a composite longitudinal sectional elevation on the linesIII-III and IIIa-IIIa i of Figure 2. '4

Figure 32L is a fragmentary view illustrating a modification.

Figurei isa section on the line IV-IV of Figure 2. y,

Figures 5 and 6 are respectively side and end 45 elevations of acoupling for the shaft of the abutment roll hereinafterreferred to.

Figure 7 is a plan of the swilling-and scrubbing device, and

Figure 8 is a fragmentary View, corresponding to Figure 4, of `amodified construction of pick-up device.

As seen in Figures l to4, the machine comprises aypickling section A, afeed section B and a .55

swilling and scrubbing section C which may be separately installed, ormounted together on a common frame or base. The pickling tank or vat a.is of rectangular form open at the top and tted with a removable framefor the plate carrier and pick-up device hereinafter described. Thisframe comprises tWo end plates b joined by two tie-rods c, d at the topand by a cross-member e and a tie-rod e (Figures 3 and 4) at the bottom.The frame is carried by the projecting ends of the tie-rods c, d restingbetween stops c', d', upon pedestals or supports f on the side walls ofthe vat. The plate carrier g is made of U form (Figure 2) from metalstrip and has a straight bottom part on which are provided a series ofrests h for the lower edge of the metal plates. In order to suit thecarrier to different lengths of plate, it has a series of holes or pegsas at i (Figures 3 and 4) at the upper part of the arms of the U for thepurposes of mounting it in vertically adjustable position upon twolevers k respectively mounted on the end plates b of the aforesaidframe. These levers are adapted to be oscillated on their pivots l, toreciprocate or jig the carrier, by means of cams m. It is convenient toemploy a three-lobe form of cam, see Figure 3, and to mount the cams onthe spindle `of a plate-discharge roll n which is mounted in bearings inslots such as y in the frame plates b. The levers 1c are of three-armednature and the cam action is applied to the arms o. The cams operate todepress the plate carrier g, the return movement being caused by springmeans or weights p operative on the free arms of the levers k. Theplate-discharge roll n operates in conjunction with a press-roll 7'carried at one end of a pair of levers s mounted on the tie-rod dsprings or weights t being provided at the other ends of the levers topress this roll against the discharge roll. The rolls n and r may berubber-covered. The pick-up device comprises a number of arcuatepressure-shoes u of acid-resisting metal carried by bow-springs nmounted on a spindle w which is supported in bearings in the frame-plateb and driven in the manner hereinafter described. In the machine shown,wherein the vat a is made wide enough for operation on two plates sideby side, there may be four of these pressure-shoes u, two for eachplate, mounted at appropriate intervals along the spindle w, see Figure2. The plates side by side are adapted to be alternately lifted by thepickup device into engagement with the plate-discharge and press rollsn, 1' and therefore the respective pairs of pressure-shoes u are mounteddiametrically opposite each other on their spindle w. The pressure-shoesoperate in conjunction with an abutment roll mounted in bearings in theframe plates b and the spindle w is fitted with a pair of toothedsegments y, which are diametrically oppositely disposed and adapted togear at appropriate times with a gear wheel z on the abutment-rollerspindle I. It is to be noted that the spindle w is shown in Figure 2 asturned with respect to the position seen in Figures 3 and 4, the objectbeing to show clearly the diametrically opposite disposition of thepairs of pressure-shoes u and the segments y, The arcual length of thepressure-shoes u is slightly greater than the distance which the platesare required to be lifted to bring them into engagement with theplate-discharge and press rolls n, r, and the arcual length of thetoothed segments y is such as to cause corresponding revolutlon of theabutment roll rc. If desired, the

two segments y may be replaced by a complete toothed wheel asillustrated by the wheel y in Figure 3a. This would cause the abutmentroll at to rotate continuously but that would not be any disadvantagebecause such roll is only effective to lift the plate when the pressureshoes u are in operative position.

rIhe frame aforesaid is fitted with two vertical series of bars 2 spacedslightly in front of the abutment roll :t to keep the plates in uprightposition when the pressure-shoes u are in inoperative position. Thesebars are bent over at the bottom, as at 2a, and rivetted to thecross-member e of the frame, and bent forwardly at the top and engagedwith the tie-rod c. The bars are appropriately spaced apart and thepressureshoes u of the pick-up device are operative between the bars.Forwardly curved guides 3 extend upwardly from the tie-rod d to directthe discharged plates to guides 4, Figure l, leading to a swilling andscrubbing device hereinafter described.

Feed of plates to the pickling vat is effected by a feed device, Figurel, comprising a pair of fly frames 5 and respective feed belts, such as6, disposed side by side. 'Ihe fly frames 5 are respectively mounted ontwo directly-geared spindles 'I, carried in brackets such as 8 on aframing 9, and they are operated by a crank and linkage mechanism I0,II, I2 from the driving spindle I3 of the pick-up device, Figures l and2,

the arrangement suitably being such that when one ily-frame is swungdown to deposit a plate on its feed belt, the other is swung up to havea plate placed on it by the operator from a table 3 or bench I4, andvice versa. The feed belts 6 are upwardly inclined and carried onrollers, such as I5, mounted in bearings on the framing 9 and theydeliver the plates by Way of guides I6, I'I into the vat a. in theneighbourhood of the pick-up abutment roll Each fly frame suitablycomprises a pair of arms, such as I8, xed on one of the spindles I,joined by an adjustable rest I9 for the plates and fitted on the outerside with guide ears such as 20 for the sides of the plates. The arms I8of each y frame are spaced apart suiciently to pass the sides of therespective feed belt 6 on the downward stroke to enable the frame todeposit its plate, and the lower feedbelt rollers I 5 are disposed outof the path of the adjustable rests I9 so as not to interfere with thismovement of the arms. If desired, nip rolls such as 2|, may be mountedat the upper end of the feed belts 6 to facilitate feed of the plates tothe pickling vat, a.

In order to bring about discharge of the successive plates atsubstantially equal intervals or distances apart from the pickling vat,the pick-up device, together with the plate-discharge roll, the ilyframes and the feed belts, is adapted to be operated at different speedsaccording to the length of the plates and for this purpose a changewheeland chain or equivalent drive is provided as will now be described withreference to Figures 1, 2, and '7. At the swilling and-scrubbing deviceC is a drive shaft 23 having a sprocket pinion 24 thereon over which thelower run of a drive chain 25 is engaged. The chain 25 extends in onedirection from the pinion 24 to a jockey or idler sprocket 26 and in theother direction to a change-wheel sprocket 21 which is removably mountedon the spindle of the platedischarge roll n of the pickling device, theupper run of the chain extending directly between the change sprocketand the idler sprocket. The

driving spindle lf3' of the pick-up device'isN operated bysprocket andAchain or equivalent drive 28 from "the discharge-roll spindle, aconvenient driving ratio being |-3, and it will be realized that by theuse of appropriate change-wheel sprockets 21', the feed ily-frames andthe pick-up device can be operated at any desired speed to suit platesof different lengths. Anl appropriate amount of slack is provided in thelower run of the driving chain 2,5, between the drive sprocket Y24 andthe change wheel sprocket 21, to accommodate change Ywheels of differentdiameters.

The feed beltsl 6 are conveniently driven by a vsprocket chain 29extending between a sprocket Wheel 30 on the spindle of the platedischarge roller n and a sprocket wheel 3| on the spindle of the upperfeed-belt rollers l5.

'I'he driving spindle |3 of the pick-up device is mounted in anappropriately packed bearing |3a in one side wall of thepickling vat andin a bearingbracket I3b mounted on that wall, see Figure 2, and it is.connected by a coupling 32 with the vpressure-shoe spindle .w of thepick-up device. This coupling 32 as shown in Figures 5 and 6, comprisesa member 33 of bar-like form on the shaft I3 and a companion member 34of rectangular (or it may be circular) form on the spindle w, the bar 33engaging a recess 35 in the member 34'. With this construction, thecoupling parts can be engaged laterally with each other, thus allowingthe plate-carrier and pick-up frame aforesaid to be bodily inserted intoor lifted from the vat a without disturbing the pick-up driving spindle3'. The ends of the bar coupling member 33, may be tapered off, asshown, to facilitate engagement of the coupling parts.

The swilling and scrubbing device C is arranged forwardly of thepickling vat a and suitably comprises a tank 36, Figures l and '7,fitted with a pair of rubber-faced plate-traversing rolls 31 and twopairs of scrubbing or wiping rolls 38, 39 of slightly larger diameterfaced with cork or like material. The traversing rolls may be placedcentrally in the tank with a pair of wiping rolls onV either side asshown, and the bearings of the several rolls are suitably mounted inopentop slots in frames or supports 48, bolted to the bottom of the tank35, so that the rolls may be removed easily from the tank. 'Ihe drivefor the rolls is by three separate shafts 4|, 42, and 23 (the latteralready referred to) which are mounted at one side of the tank 36 onsupports 369,

Figure 2, and have spur or like wheels 43, 44, 45, at their inner endsmeshed with wheels 46, 41, 48 respectively on the adjacent ends of thespindles of the lower rolls of the sets 39, 31, 38. The jockey oridlersprocket 26 aforesaid is mounted revolubly on the shaft 4|. Theshafts 4|, 42 and 23 are removably mounted to allow removal of the rolls31, 38, 39, as aforesaid and the drive to them is as follows: On theshaft 4| is a sprocket 49 Ato which drive is transmitted by a chain 58driven, say,v from the entry or feed rolls of a tinning machinehereinafter referred to. The sprocket 49 preferably has a dog clutch 49aassociated with it so that-the drive may be connected and disconnectedas desired. Also on the shaft 4| is a second sprocket v| which transmitsdrive through a chain 52 to a sprocket 53 on the shaft 42. The latter inturn has a second sprocket 54 and this transmits drive through a chain55 to a sprocket 56 on the shaft 23. The upper rolls-off each pair ofrolls 31, 38 and 39 are driven from the spindles of the respective lowerrolls by spur or like gears of l-l ratio located at "Eil at the oppositeends `of the roll spindlesA 'to' the wheels 4.6, 41,48. The drive ratiosadopted for the driving gearing of the rolls, 31, 38', 39 and the sizeof the rolls themselves are suitably such that the traversing `rolls 31revolveV at a greater 1 peripheral speed than the rst pair of scrubbingor wiping rolls 38, whilethe second pair of scrubbing or wipingA rolls39 revolves at a greater peripheral speed than the traversing rolls 31,the

speed suitably being about four times as fast inl each case. Thisprogressively increasing speed of the successive sets ofrolls 38, 31, 39prevents buckling of the plates between such rollsY during the scrubbingand swilling treatment. Waterjet devices 51, mounted on the frames 40,may be placed forwardly of the second set of wiping-:rolls 39 tocomplete the washing or swilling of the plates and beyond these jets apair of delivery rolls 58 may be placed from which the plates may passdirect to a tinning or like machine. The bearings of the rolls 58 mayb-e mounted in open-top slots in frames such as 59 carriedon bracketssuch as 69, disposed one on each of the frames 48 aforesaid, and therolls may be geared together by gearing of 1-1 ratio at 1| and be drivenby extending the driving chain aforesaid from the idler 26 over asprocket 6| on the spindle of the lower roll as shown. The deliveryrolls 58 are rotated at a slower peripheral speed than the last set ofscrubbing or wiping rolls 39 in order to prevent too rash feed oftheplates to the tinning or like machine, and buckling of the platesbetween the pairs 39 and 58 maybe prevented in any suitable manner as byarranging for the delivery rolls to allow slip until the plates leavethe rolls 39. The distance between the pair 39 and the pair 58 is enoughto allow very thin plates to bow without buckling and damaging them. Therolls of each pair in the washing tank 36, may be pressed resilientlytogether by springs or weights or by hand-screws such as 62 mounted inthe roll-bearing retaining plates 62a. In Figure 1, parts havel been cutaway, along the line of Figure 7, for clearness of illustration.

In the operation of the apparatus, the plate carrier y in the picklingvat a is first adjusted to suit the length of the plates to be treated.This is effected by engaging the appropriate pegs or holes at z with thelevers 7c and the adjustment effected is such that whatever the lengthof the plates, the upper edges of the latter are about at a constantdistance from the plate-discharge roll n when they are placed in thecarrier. As a suitable working figure, this distance, measured from thetop of the plate to the nip of the roll is approximately three inchesless than the circular length of the pick-up pressure-shoes u, so thatthe latter will raise the plates a suflicient distance to be effectivelynipped. by the rollers n, r. The initial adjustments also include theselection of an appropriately-sized change sprocket at.21 to suit thelength of plates being dealt with. 'I'he apparatus is now set in motion.and the operator places the black plates alternately on to the two ilyframes 5 of the feed device. By the operation of the crank and linkagemech,- anism I8, I, l2., the ily frames are swung down alternately totransfer the plates to the feed belts 6 and from the latter they passone after another between the nip of the rolls 2| and the belts 6 and byway of the guides i6, l1 to the pickling vat a where they come rest anupright position vin the plate carrier g in front of the bars 2, as seenfor instance at 43 in Figure 4. The plate carrier is, of course, beingsubjected to up-and-down reciprocatory or jigging movements by the camsm and this causes corresponding movements of the plates so that they areeffectively treated by the acid in the vat. After several jiggingmovements the pressure shoes u of the pick-up device come, by rotationof their spindle w, into contact with the respective plates so that thelatter are gripped between the pressure shoes and the abutment roll 3:.The latter is rotated by the appurtenant toothed segments or wheel at yon the pressure-shoe spindle w and if the drive is by segments, theroller :c only rotates when a plate is being lifted. The pick-up devicethus brings the side by side plates alternately to the plate-dischargeand press-rolls n, 1* and from these the plates are successively guidedby the guides 4 to the swilling and scrubbing tank 36. As will berealized, small plates will be operated at greater speed than largeplates both during feed to the pickling vat a, and during dischargetherefrom, and consequently the plates, on delivery, will be atapproximately equal intervals or distances apart whatever the length ofthe plates, so that uniform and high speed operation is attainable.

On reaching the swilling and scrubbing tank, each plate first enters thenip of the first pair of wiping rolls 38 and is then taken up by thetraversing rolls 31. As the rolls 31 move with a greater peripheralspeed than the rolls 38, a scrubbing or wiping action is exerted by thelatter rolls on the plate which is now moved into the nip of the secondpair of wiping rolls 59 which, owing to their greater peripheral speed,effect further wiping or scrubbing of the plate. The plate is then takenup by the guide 63 and passed to the water jet 51 by which it is given afinal wash-off on each side and it then passes to the delivery rolls 58which deliver it directly to the tinning or coating machine assisted bya suitable guide such as 64. The delivery rolls 58, or an extra pair ofdelivery rolls, may be placed before the jet devices 51 if desired. Aconvenient construction of tinning or coating machine is described inthe specification accompanying our concurrent patent application SerialNo. 14,161 of even date herewith.

In practice, the substantially equal spacing of the plates on dischargefrom the pickling bath or vat, can be maintained to a favourable extentthrough the swilling and scrubbing device and the tinning or likemachine, with consequent advantage in the manufacture of coated metalplates.

All parts of the pickling vat mechanism would, of course, be of acidresisting material. The mechanism described provides a very eiicientpickling action, but it will be understood that modifications may bemade in the construction of this mechanism and also of the mechanism ofthe feed and swilling and scrubbing apparatus without departing from thescope of this invention.

An advantageous modification of the pickling mechanism is seen in Figure8, and consists in using one or more metal plates 65, instead of theseries of bars such as 2 aforesaid, for maintaining the pickling plates43 in upright position in the carrier g. 'Ihe pressure-shoes u of thepickup device would be arranged to engage these plates 65, instead ofengaging the pickling plates, and by mounting the plates 65 invertically movable manner on the carrier and pick-up frame, for instanceby a lost-motion connection 66 between it and the spindle of theplate-discharge roll n, the said plates can rise with the respectivepickling plates as the latter are lifted for discharge. Thepressure-shoes press the plates 65 against the pickling plates and thelatter against the abutment roller x to effect the lifting movement andthus there is no direct pressure of the shoes on the pickling plateswhich is an advantage, for example, when thin plates are being pickledas it avoids denting the plates by the shoes. These loose plates 65 maybe guided at the lower end by a bar 61 extending between the frameplates b and may be perforated if desired to facilitate the access ofpickling liquid to the pickling plates.

I claim:-

1. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a pickling vessel anda plate-carrier operative in said vessel, adapted to receive platesseparately and in succession, means for adjusting said plate carrier tosuit different lengths of plates, means operative to jig saidplate-carrier, plate-discharge means operative to remove each plate fromsaid plate-carrier after allowing several jigging movements of the platebut before the next following plate is received in said plate carrierand means for operating said plate discharge means to discharge theplates from said pickling vessel in succession at substantially equalintervals apart for all lengths of plates.

2. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a plate-carrieradapted to receive plates separately and in succession, means foradjusting said plate carrier to suit different lengths of plates, meansoperative to jig said plate-carrier, means adapted to come intooperation intermittently to grip the plates and, remove them insuccession from said plate-carrier, and means for adjusting the time andspeed of operation of said gripping means to suit different lengths ofplates.

3. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a pickling vessel, aplate-carrier operative in said vessel and adjustable to suit differentlengths of plates, means operative to jig said plate-carrier, meansadapted to come into operation intermittently to grip the plates andremove them in succession from said plate-carrier, means for adjustingthe time and speed of operation of said gripping means to suit differentlengths of plates, and a plate-discharge roll operative at differentspeeds, according to the lengths of the plates, to discharge the platesfrom said vessel.

4. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a pickling vessel, aplate carrier operative in said vessel and adjustable to suit differentlengths of plates, means operative to jig said plate carrier, a feeddevice operative at different speeds to feed the plates successively tosaid pickling vessel and plate carrier, and plate-discharge meansoperative to remove each plate from said plate-carrier after allowingseveral jigging movements of the plate but before the next followingplate is received in said plate carrier and means for operating saidplate discharge means to discharge the plates from said pickling vesselin succession at substantially equal intervals apart for all lengths ofplates.

5. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a plate-carrieradapted to receive plates separately and in succession and adjustable tosuit different lengths of plates, a multi-lobe cam operative to jig saidplate-carrier, and platedischarge means operative to remove each platefrom said plate-carrier after allowing said multilobe cam to effectseveral jigging movements of the plate.

6. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a pickling vat, aplate feed device comprising a swingable ily frame and a travelling feedbelt, a plate carrier mounted in said Vvat and adjustable to suit thelength of plates under treatment, a multi-lobe cam for jigging saidplate carrier, a revoluble pressure shoe for removing plates from saidplate carrier after allowing several jigging movements of such plates,and a change-wheel shaft having driving connection with said iiy frame,feed belt, cam and pressure shoe.

7. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a jigging platecarrier which is adjustable to suit plates of different lengths, apick-up device comprising a resiliently-mounted pressureshoe and aco-operative abutment roll operative for discharging the plates fromsaid plate carrier in succession, and means for adjusting the time andspeed of operation of said pressure-shoe and abutment roll to suitdiierent lengths of plates.

8. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a jigging platecarrier which is adjustable to suit plates of different lengths, apick-up device comprising a resiliently-mounted pressure-shoe and aco-operative abutment roll operative for discharging the plates fromsaid plate carrier in succession, means for adjusting the time and speedof operation of said pressure-shoe and abutment roll to suit differentlengths of plates, and means for maintaining the plates in uprightposition in said plate-carrier when said pressureshoe is in inoperativeposition.

9. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a jigging platecarrier which is adjustable to suit plates of different lengths, apick-up device comprising a resiliently-mounted pressure shoe and aco-operative abutment roll operative for discharging the plates fromsaid plate carrier in succession, means for adjusting the time and speedof operation of said pressure-shoe and abutment roll to suit differentlengths of plates. and a plate for maintaining the metal plates inupright position in said plate-carrier when said pressure shoe is ininoperative position, said plate being pressed against the respectivemetal 5 plates by said pressure-shoe and rising therewith when suchplates are discharged from said platecarrier.

10. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, comprising a pickling vessel, aframe removably mounted in said vessel, a plate carrier mounted in saidframe and adjustable to suit plates of different lengths, jigging meansmounted in said frame and operatively connected with said plate carrier,a pick-up device also mounted in said frame, said pick-up device beingadapted to come into operation intermittently to remove plates insuccession from said plate carrier, and means for adjusting the time andspeed of operation of said pick-up device to suit different lengths ofplates.

11. Apparatus for pickling metal plates, cornprising a pickling vessel,a plate carrier operative in said vessel and adjustable to suitdifferent lengths of plates, a feed device for feeding the platessuccessively to said vessel and plate carrier and comprising aswingably-mounted ily frame and a cooperative feed belt, means fordriving said fly frame and feed belt at different speeds to suitdifferent lengths of plates, and means operative to discharge the platesfrom said plate carrier and vessel in succession at substantially equalintervals apart for all lengths of plates.

12. Apparatus for pickling, swilling and scrubbing metal plates,comprising in combination a pickling vat, a plate carrier operative insaid vat and adjustable to suit plates of different lengths, meansoperative to discharge the plates from said carrier and vat insuccession at substantially equal intervals apart for all lengths ofplates, and a plate swilling and scrubbing device comprising sets oftraversing and cleaning rolls for receiving plates discharged from saidpickling vat, and means for rotating said sets of rolls at progressivelyincreasing peripheral speeds from the rst set to the last.

SAMUEL DAVIES.

